NBA Game Notes (May 26, 2026)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on May 26, 2026.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 32 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals to take a 3-2 series lead. Gilgeous-Alexander shot just 7-19 from the field, but sank 16 of his 17 free throw attempts. He also contributed a game-high nine assists, two steals, and one block in 37 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Alex Caruso came off the bench to score 22 points in the Thunder’s win over the Spurs. Caruso went 5-10 from the floor (4-8 on threes) and 8-8 from the charity stripe. He also dished out six assists and swiped a game-high three steals (tied with four others) in 28 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Stephon Castle scored a team-high 24 points, but it wasn’t enough in the Spurs’ loss to the Thunder. Castle shot 7-11 from the field (3-5 on threes) and 7-8 from the free throw line. He added six assists, five rebounds, and a game-high three steals (tied with four others) in 33 minutes played.
Milestones
Caruso has made 18 threes this series, the most in NBA history by a bench player in a single conference finals. The previous mark of 17 triples was shared by Mickael Pietrus (2009) and Stephen Jackson (2012).
Streaking
The Thunder’s Cason Wallace had two steals, the 16th straight playoff game in which he’s recorded at least one theft. He’s swiped multiple steals in each of his last five contests.
The San Antonio Spurs have scored at least 100 points in each of their last 16 playoff games, the second-longest such streak in franchise postseason history. The record of 21 straight 100-point playoff games was set from May 2, 1982 to April 26, 1985.
Miscellany
Gilgeous-Alexander was the night’s leading scorer, dropping 32 points. He was followed by Castle (24 points), Caruso (22), the Spurs’ Julian Champagnie (22), the Thunder’s Jared McCain (20), and the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama (20).
The Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein was the top board man last night, hauling in 15 rebounds. Teammate Chet Holmgren also collected double-digit boards with 11.
Gilgeous-Alexander took home nightly honors in assists, handing out nine helpers. The Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox was runner-up with eight dimes, followed by Caruso and Castle with six apiece.
Caruso has scored at least 15 points with an effective field goal percentage of 70% four times in this series, tying James Worthy (1985), Kyrie Irving (2017), and Caleb Martin (2023) for the most such games in a single conference finals. Caruso is the only player to come off the bench in all four games.